Texas Jails Texas County Jails. (original) (raw)

Jails were some of the first public buildings erected in Texas - occasionally built with the same bond issue money as county courthouses. After construction however, they received minimal funds for modernization . Stories have been told of sympathetic sheriffs who would release prisoners because of leaking roofs.

Texas' landscape is dotted with these brick fortresses and grim crenelated castles - many of them still in use after more than 100 years. Medieval and primitive they may appear, but many housed the sheriff and his family as well as local miscreants and villains.

Here are some of Texas' more picturesque 19th and 20th century county jails.

Texas County Jail List

	Strap-Iron Jails & Cages in Texas

A Jail Without Walls by Michael Barr
Another Slow Night at the Blanco County Jail by Michael Barr
In and Out of the Old Gillespie County Jail by Michael Barr
Gillespie County jailbreaks
Bullet Riddled Buddies by Clay Coppedge
The escape from the infamous �Death House� at Huntsville...
'Tumbleweeds' took outlaws to prison by Delbert Trew
Among the more famous conveyances adapted and used by man were the "tumbleweed wagons." Actually, they were only common canvas covered farm wagons put to use hauling captured prisoners being taken to the Fort Smith prison...
The Haunting of the Old Travis County Jail by Mike Cox
Harvey, 34, had the distinction of being the last of nine men legally hanged in the castle-like stone jail, built for $100,000 in 1876 at the corner of 11th and Brazos streets � present location of the Dewitt C. Greer Building, headquarters of what is now the Texas Department of Transportation.
The Huntsville Humdinger and the Texas Prison Rodeo by Mike Cox
When the Huntsville Humdinger hit the streets that Monday, the feisty four-column competitor of the long-established Huntsville Item carried on page one a humdinger of a local scoop: The prison system would be starting a rodeo that fall. On Sept. 4, 1931...
Bertillion Method early way to track criminals by Delbert Trew
I take great pleasure in learning a new word, a little-known fact or hearing a story I have not heard before. In the book "Texas Gulag" by Gary Brown, the history of Texas prisons, jails and even the early-day chain gangs is presented from the years 1875 to 1925. The book outlined in detail how criminals were identified as they processed through the old systems.
Old-time improvisation in branding and jailing by Delbert Trew
Pearl by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" column)
He has the singular distinction of being the first and last man legally hanged in the county.
The Double Hanging at Bellville in 1896 by Norman Conquest
Sheriff Fenton of Coleman County and His Larger Than Life Wife by John Troesser
The Infamous East Texas Sewing Needle Jail Break by John Troesser
The not so great escapes by Clay Coppedge
Study on Prisoner Re-entry in Texas by Peary Perry
Houston 1984 History cartoon by Roger Todd Moore

Texas Jails Texas County Jails. (original) (raw)

Texas County Jail List

Texas Jailbreaks and Jail Related Articles